After a week’s silence, Tun is back swinging and delivering today yet another stinger. He says in Che Det, “Democracy is dead”.
“Democracy is dead” were identically Tun Dr Ismail’s famous words with regard to the aftermath of the May 13 riots. It’s hardly a good omen for Tun Mahathir to resurrect such an evocative phrase that’s so intertwined with our bloody past.
1969 – Democracy “died at the hands of the opposition parties”
Tun Dr Ismail had made the dramatic announcement that democracy was dead on the day Emergency was declared on 15 May 1969 and Parliament simultaneously suspended. Malaysia was put under “semi-martial law” and rule by the National Operations Council.
Recalled to be Home Minister in the caretaker Cabinet, Tun Dr Ismail said of the aftermath to May 13: “Democracy is dead in this country. It died at the hands of the opposition parties who triggered off the event leading to this violence.”
Click to enlarge
Troublemakers never change … Kit Siang buat onar
On the day following the temporary death of democracy, opposition MPs – held by the NOC to be responsible for triggering the event leading to the May 13 riots – were arrested under ISA (see ‘Straits Times’ front page above).
Lim Kit Siang, who was in Sabah, was taken into custody by the state police on May 15 and put on the next available flight out.
The plane he boarded had to be redirected to Singapore due to the curfew enforced in Selangor. Kit Siang, who at that time was DAP national organizing secretary cum editor of The Rocket, was arrested upon his immediate arrival at Subang airport on May 18 following his two-day stopover in Singapore.
Fast forward to 2015 and Tun’s invocation of the death of democracy.
“Democracy is dead”, yes meh?
No lah.
There is no state of Emergency currently.
Parliament is functioning as per normal.
The Cabinet is comprised of MPs and Senators, and not incorporating the Chief of Armed Forces, the Inspector-General of Police and other military and police top brass – see pix above – who ruled Malaysia by decree in 1969 when democracy was declared dead by Tun Dr Ismail.
There is no curfew presently.
Lim Kit Siang and other MPs such as Rafizi and Tony are free and at large.
Mukhriz is still MB of Kedah.
The opposition are very loud and their supporters very, very noisy demanding this and that action to be taken against Najib. If we were not democratic, all these people would have been cast in the gulag yesterday.
It is because democracy is alive that Najib Razak is being pummeled daily. If Putrajaya was to change hands and Malaysia come under the reign of Kim Kit Siang and Kim Guan Eng, aha! then democracy would be much deader.
So Tun is clearly exaggerating when he proclaims that “democracy is dead”.
How our democracy might take a turn
The photo above shows Najib meeting up with PAS Kelantan leaders. Umno and PAS are discussing hudud.
The photo below shows a recent Hari Raya event in Penang. Kit Siang’s equally troublesome son is wearing Aidil Fitri green. It also looks like Guan Eng is on the verge of molesting Mat Sabu … yucks.
Rumour has it that the DAP is sponsoring the renegade PAS members’ New Hope, and please don’t deny that the name sounds like one popularly used by evangelical churches.
So what is the shape of democracy to come in M’sia?
New Hope will fare like Hamim and Berjasa which were splinter parties of PAS. The fact that both are not all that hot is an indication that splinter parties generally don’t do well nor last long. Semangat 46, the Umno breakaway, tanked after only 7 years and 4 months.
And there are a number of political parties branching off from the established ones in Sabah and Sarawak that are neither here nor there.
How are things panning out as a result from the fallout from the attacks on Najib?
Hadi Awang, Harun Din and a few of the other top PAS leaders appear to have rallied around the beleaguered PM. Najib is appreciative and has thanked them personally on several separate occasions in his speeches.
Umno and PAS are warming up to each other and drawing closer together. Combined with Sarawak’s PBB, these three parties have enough strength to form the federal government. They can be a Malay/bumiputera-Muslim ruling party troika.
In the opposition camp, you have taiko DAP and very scant Malay representation because the New Hope is a false hope for their Chinese backers. The PAS turncoats will not catch on with the Malay electorate (yah, I’m quite sure).
Perhaps some of the secessionist-inclined Sabah Christian parties or one or two small disgruntled Sarawak Christian parties may be enticed to throw their lot with the DAP in the opposition.
In which case democracy in Malaysia will be rather robust but this development is not at all healthy. Such a polarizing trend augurs confrontation between Muslims and non-Muslims, and an adversarial rivalry between Malays and non-Malays.
Helen Ang 
Helen,
The words “democracy is dead” were found in point number 47 of a 47 point posting by Tun Dr Mahatir. Perhaps you should also address the full contents of Tun’s posting and not just choose 3 words to base your article on. Perhaps you could post Tun’s article in full so that your readers can read it and better appreciate the context in which Tun made the statement.
This is point number 47 in full :
Democracy is dead. It is dead because an elected leader chooses to subvert the institutions of Government and make them his instruments for sustaining himself. There is no more democracy for anyone to undermine. Certainly talking about 1MDB will not undermine something that no longer exist. If anyone should be questioned by the police, it is Najib.
ToH,
re: “The words “democracy is dead” were found in point number 47 of a 47 point posting by Tun Dr Mahatir.”
Correct. It is a lengthy posting by Tun today, and the quoted phrase closes the concluding para.
re: “Perhaps you should also address the full contents of Tun’s posting and not just choose 3 words to base your article on.”
Well, 46 other points is a lot of stuff. I reckon Salleh Said Keruak or/and Rahman Dahlan, Puad Zarkashi, Tun Faisal, other Najib defenders will be addressing and rebutting those points. I’m not on the PM’s payroll, you know. So I choose only to address the facet that interests me in my personal blog, this.
re: “Perhaps you could post Tun’s article in full so that your readers can read it and better appreciate the context in which Tun made the statement.”
As a regular reader, you know quite well that I rarely, if at all, post any outside article in full.
re: “This is point number 47 in full […] questioned by the police, it is Najib.”
If you’ll look above at my page again, you can see that I provided a screenshot of the Malaysiakini top story.
(a) My topic “Democracy is dead” derives from the Malaysiakini subject highlight and the article link is also provided for you to click. The story is free to read for non-subscribers of the portal.
(b) The Malaysiakini headline says Tun “wants PM investigated” so the context is already there.
(c) You can also see on my page, in the screen capture above, the explanatory Malaysiakini standfirst which reads, “Dr M says the PM has subverted gov’t institutions to stay in power”.
It will require detailed minutiae to go point-on-point with Tun.
Plus he is rehashing some of his contents including personal complaints like the one about Najib’s daughter’s lavish wedding, and Najib’s stepson’s investment in producing the movie The Wolf of Wall Street.
Tun says, “It is so pornographic that it cannot be shown in Malaysia” but it appears he watched it anyway to be able to pronounce an X-rating on it. (Actually Wolf has an official R-rating which indicates “Restricted – under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian” but not necessarily that so “pornographic” as Tun is claiming.)
But anyway, some bloggers have already countered Tun previously and I recommend that you check out, http://limsiansee.blogspot.com/
Kak Helen, yang ini pula macam mana?
http://satdthinks.blogspot.com/2015/07/just-asking-conversations-with.html
http://limsiansee.blogspot.com/2015/07/reply-to-sat-ds-july-2nd-long-post-on.html
So you are fine with DPM and UMNO VP being sacked ,PAC members promoted to cripple PAC, AG retired , MACC officers detained and transferred, and all investigations being halted.Your yardstick of a dead democracy is state of emergency. Then you must also agree that your ancestors migrating out of China to escape communist rule was totally stupid because today simillar things can only happen in China and North Korea.
Citing 13 May racial tension to compare with 1MDB and gross cash embezzlements is just as much a spin as BigDog’s posting of Jewish support to SR to link with TunM meeting with Rocastle.
Very pathetic to see smart elite bloggers having to reduce to spinners just to defend the paymaster.
re: “So you are fine with DPM and UMNO VP being sacked”
Yes. It’s Najib’s prerogative to choose his Cabinet just like it was Tun’s to sack Anwar and separately, to downgrade Tengku Razaleigh from Finance Minister to Trade & Industry Minister. Ministers serve at the pleasure of the PM.
In the UK and the USA, those in the PM/President’s Cabinet are called his “secretaries” like Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of State for Education/Health/etc. The designation of “secretary” signifies their relationship vis-a-vis Number 1. They are all expendable.
re: “PAC members promoted to cripple PAC”
(1) They had the option of refusing the promotion.
(2) If you’re not happy about their promotion, you should do something concrete like start a campaign to dissuade voters from returning them to their Parliament seats in GE14.
re: “AG retired”
I believe the just ‘retired’ AG may be investigated soon. Will you wait and see? I don’t want to comment on the sensitive subject.
re: “MACC officers detained and transferred”
Thought this morning’s headline in the online news said the transfers were revoked. But you still have to admit that there were leaks and that’s how WSJ – for one – got their expose.
Are you alright with government officials leaking OSA documents to foreign agents for the purpose of bringing down the current administration? Isn’t that treason? WSJ‘s story based on leaked investigation papers was highly damaging and sparked a feeding frenzy among the international press.
re: “and all investigations being halted”
The PAC has a scheduled date to resume.
re: “Your yardstick of a dead democracy is state of emergency. Then you must also agree that your ancestors migrating out of China to escape communist rule was totally stupid because today simillar things can only happen in China and North Korea.”
Hullo. Why are you getting personal and slagging my ancestors pula? FYI, I’m Peranakan descended on both sides (paternal and maternal) of my family – y’know the sanggul nyonyas. We’ve been in Penang – but I choose to be Selangorian – for generations and were here long before the communists took over in 1949.
re: “Citing 13 May racial tension to compare with 1MDB and gross cash embezzlements”
I don’t see the word “1MDB” appearing in my article above at all. I was comparing Tun Dr Ismail’s “Democracy is Dead” with Tun Mahathir’s pronouncement of the same.
re: “is just as much a spin as BigDog’s posting of Jewish support to SR to link with TunM meeting with Rocastle.”
Rewcastle is connected to an investigation by the Thai authorities for crime – fact. Someone closely connected to Tun may also be investigated – rumour (I don’t know whether true or not). But wait and see.
re: “Very pathetic to see smart elite bloggers having to reduce to spinners just to defend the paymaster.”
Thank you for the compliment of “smart” and “elite blogger” but I’m not on anyone’s payroll. And I do not see where in my article above I’ve “defended” anything or anyone. Please point out what-which passage and I’m perfectly willing to have a further discussion with you.
helen, you have changed so much… now i understand what najib means by ‘cash is king’…
If you persist in making unsubstantiated accusations against me, then I can just as easily make any/all kinds of accusations I want against XYZ in the 1MDB saga.
If I’m able to respect the freedom/privilege of all the readers here who have been making negative and damaging comments about Najib and his RM2.6b “donation” without blocking you guys, why can’t you fellas reciprocate and respect my right to refrain from joining the ‘Bash’ bandwagon?
I’m aware that a lot of you (Malays too) are angry, and even hate the PM. Well, I don’t share your opinion.
I’m uneasy but I’d be more uneasy if Muhyiddin, Zahid, Hisham, Hadi Awang or some Malay who is the DAP’s proxy were to become PM tomorrow.
And I certainly don’t hate Najib. I never have, not even when I complained about his well-intended (but I don’t like) initiatives such as TalentCorp, NUCC, GMM, BR1M … long list … plus his wife’s Birkin bags. I’ve always listed Najib’s good qualities such as his “noblesse oblige” (you can Google to see how many dozens of times I’ve used this word to describe the PM since from the early days.)
Just accept that I don’t think the same like you over this matter just as I don’t share the views of the Dapster-evangelistas in other issues. Why do you need to impute a base motive now when, if previously, I disagreed with your views on the DAP, Chinese and Christians, then that was alright and quite acceptable?
ADD:
“But I’d be more uneasy if Muhyiddin, Zahid, Hisham, Hadi Awang or some Malay who is the DAP’s proxy were to become PM tomorrow.”
Or Nurul (?!) as being proposed by Zaid Ibrahim. I suppose the man sees himself as the regent if Nurul were to wear the mantle.
re: “Or Nurul (?!) as being proposed by Zaid Ibrahim”
OR … Zaid should just propose to Nurul(if still available la) and get co-opted as a ‘family member in-law’. He can then ‘co-on everything’ and skip the regentship(yeah yeah … I watched too much of those Korean movies).
,D
‘ I never have, not even when I complained about his well-intended (but I don’t like) initiatives such as TalentCorp, NUCC, GMM, BR1M … long list … plus his wife’s Birkin bags. I’ve always listed Najib’s good qualities such as his “noblesse oblige” (you can Google to see how many dozens of times I’ve used this word to describe the PM since from the early days.)’
Yes, you hated his antics. But never hated Najib, the man. I can vouch for that. Saying that you have berubah, is incorrect.
Helen,
Initially, I supported Tun when he attacked Najib. Tun made some valid points.
But after a while, I begin to realise that Tun rejected all explanations on 1Mdb. I know 1Mdb is messy. But I too realise Tun too exagerates.
Tun’s comment on 1Mdb forces Najib administration to respond. Response Najib did. Ia may agree that 1mdb has many flaws.But certainly not as bad as many painting it.
Ikut rasa binasa. Tun’s followers are emotional.
We need to be detached and take the long view – see the big picture.
I’m not claiming that I foresaw the twists and turns or that I had any inkling that TSMY would be sacked (I wouldn’t have known) but generally I had already guessed months ago what the present outcome of this epic battle between the two men would be.
It’s a matter of analytically sizing up who has what powers at this disposal.
these followers of tun don’t understand. as much as najib is disliked, I don’t see much future under evangelistas.
the civil war in umno will only benefit the evangelistas which has discreetly building its strength. i believe if god permit tun to experience the evangelista in power, he would re-think his posting now.
mercy is virtually not in their vocab. they would retaliate in any means and ways najib wouldn’t dare to do.
the scenario is akin to a not so good contractor building a house which has it flaws but still livable. then comes another contractor who is splendid when it comes to commenting and complaining and once he gets his hand into it, it’ll get worse.
“helen, you have changed so much…”
It is not the first time.
AC-DC,
You’re inverted like Orwell’s doublespeak where the Ministry of Love (Miniluv) oversees torture and brainwashing.
You people are the ones chanting UBAH, UBAH, UBAH. When you change but your opponent is consistent, then you accuse the other side of your own ‘crime’/act because you’re looking from your own lalang point of view.
e.g. Honeymoon period with PAS, you tell the Chinese “PAS for All” and don’t be afraid of hudud. When you divorce PAS, then you say PAS is evil.
e.g. All the time Dr Mahathir is your pet hate but today, since he is attacking Najib, the Tun becomes your hero.
e.g. You tell the Chinese voters Umno is the devil. But since Muhyiddin’s sacking, then you all are willing to work together with Umno Johor to bring down the BN, so Umno Johor is no longer the Dark Side but the rest of the state Umnos remain devils.
What kind of people are you?
“You people are the ones chanting UBAH, UBAH, UBAH. When you change but your opponent is consistent, then you accuse the other side of your own ‘crime’/act because you’re looking from your own lalang point of view.
e.g. Honeymoon period with PAS, you tell the Chinese “PAS for All” and don’t be afraid of hudud. When you divorce PAS, then you say PAS is evil.
e.g. All the time Dr Mahathir is your pet hate but today, since he is attacking Najib, the Tun becomes your hero.
e.g. You tell the Chinese voters Umno is the devil. But since Muhyiddin’s sacking, then you all are willing to work together with Umno Johor to bring down the BN, so Umno Johor is no longer the Dark Side but the rest of the state Umnos remain devils.”
Civil society supported you when Perkasa made a frivolous police report against you, and when you were called up. But in a matter of months, you inexplicably swapped sides and started vehemently attacking the opposition, the civil society people who supported you, and of course, the Chinese and Christian minorities. Some people I spoke to (pro-government and pro-opposition) told me things, but I will not elaborate here.
I know Mahathir is not attacking Najib for the sake of Malaysia, democracy, or other rethoric that he and his ground-worshippers claim. He is doing it to replace Najib with someone (preferably Muhiyiddin), and more importantly, someone who can safeguard the family wealth and potentially Mukhriz’s ascension to the Prime Minister’s seat. If that happens, it would not be any better for the Opposition. Actually it might be worse. Tun Mahathir was pushing for a more iron-fisted approach last year and early this year.
re: “Civil society supported you when Perkasa made a frivolous police report against you, and when you were called up.”
No, they DID NOT.
I will pay you RM100 for each name you can provide among the NGO people who accompanied me to the police station. My money is safe because you can’t. Nobody stood with me.
It was N. Surendran who accompanied me to the police station. At that time he was not yet PKR vice-president but a well-known human rights lawyer dealing with ‘Indian deaths in police custody’ cases as well as the Hindraf legal advisor (Uthaya was doing ‘Policewatch’ at that time).
Do you know who was the first public figure who openly supported me when Perkasa made that police report? It was P. Uthayakumar.
And do you know who was the second activist to publicly support me? It was another Hindraf guy, a lawyer.
Your so-called civil society groups (Bangsar latter sippers) are always dissing Hindraf, calling them racist, extremists, sell-outs (because they too didn’t/don’t support Pakatan and are able to see through the oppo scam). If the civil society types look in the mirror, the mirror will crack from the burden of their hypocrisy.
re: “But in a matter of months, you inexplicably swapped sides”
Perkasa lodged a police report against me on 9 Aug 2010. I first took issue with Guan Eng on 14 Apr 2010 over Kg Buah Pala, and you can find references here in my blog on what LGE specifically said (Firster talk) that riled me up –
https://helenang.wordpress.com/?s=BN%27s+Dr+Jekyll+and+Mr+Hyde&searchbutton=Go!
Note that I found fault with Guan Eng BEFORE/preceding (and not after) the Perkasa police report.
re: “and started vehemently attacking the opposition”
It did not take very long at all for the DAP to show what scums they are. And no, I do not vehemently attack the opposition. I don’t blog negatively about PAS and I rarely touch on PKR. Plus I’m usually positive about PSM.
re: “the civil society people who supported you”
I repeat: The civil society people did not support me. Surendran (at that time ‘Hindraf’), Uthaya and Shan did – all Hindraf.
re: “and of course, the Chinese and Christian minorities”
The behaviour of the Dapsters and the evangelistas speak for themselves.
You do realise that they are very much hated by many MALAYSIANS. Kit Siang Grandpapa Dapster is immensely detested by the older generation Malays. Guan Eng Papa Dapster is universally despised by Umno Malays.
Why am I in nay way unusual if I don’t like the Lims? Is it because I’m Chinese and so I’m compelled to support them and the DAP? Isn’t this reasoning so “racist”?
I’m the rare person who is actually “beyond race” and “colour blind” and having the courage to buck the Chinese herd mentality despite the thuggery of the Dapsters (as revealed by Shen Yee Aun and other 10 percent Chinese individuals).
re: “Some people I spoke to (pro-government and pro-opposition) told me things, but I will not elaborate here.”
Oooh pandainya buat innuendo.
Hah! Some people I spoke to (pro-government and pro-opposition) told me lots of things about Guan Eng and Hannah but I will not elaborate here. Do recall that Hannah was once under MACC corruption probe – along with a few other S’gor DAP Aduns – at about the time of TBH’s ordeal but the investigations were scuttled due to the huge public relations disaster of Teoh’s death.
See, two can play at this game. Fitnah memang jadi darah daging you orang. And it’s precisely because the DAP rabid operatives can’t stop lying that I refuse to support the sneaky oppo. Even Perkasa don’t harass me. (They’ve got the Umno ‘tidak apa’ DNA.)
But your side will insist until your faces turn blue that Bak Kut Teh ain’t pork … e.g. Deny, deny, deny that the RBA exists. Tapi pecah tembelang juga akhirnya. See, https://helenang.wordpress.com/2015/08/11/dap-super-cyberbully/#comment-156241
Realise that the majority population have caught on that the Dapsters and evangelistas are synonymous with tipu, bohong, putar-belit & fitnah. I’ve chosen to be on the right side of history. Malaysia will remain a Muslim country.
re: “Tun Mahathir was pushing for a more iron-fisted approach last year and early this year.”
And LKS hails him as a hero. Why don’t you ask Dr Kua Kia Soong why he quit the DAP? And what he said about the DAP Rottweillers being sicced on Khalid Samad. Or are you going to throw mud at Dr Kua to as well as TS Khalid or anyone else who has outed the disgraceful DAP?
Dr Kua’s article today @ http://www.malaysia-today.net/oppositions-30-year-engagement-with-pas-undone/
He said unequivocally that it is the DAP which has done the 180-degree “volte face”. And you party supporters keep drinking the J-Juice and doing doublethink, doublespeak. Pathetic!
Helen,
re, But i’d be more uneasy if Mahyudin ,Zaid , Hisham , Hadi Awang or some Malays who is the DAP’s proxy were to be PM tomorrow .
You must have reason for that ,except Hadi Awang ,Zaid or some DAP”s proxy, which could be understood .
Do share your thought .
re: “Do share your thought.”
Okay. Not Nurul, and that’s most understandable.
Mahyudin – I think he behaved badly if the story that he’s conspiring a vote of no confidence is true. Nonetheless, all the maneuvers that he’s been carrying out to undermine his Boss are sackable offences.
Zahid – Dia panas baran. Najib is a cool cat. The way he’s outsmarted his opponents so far with all the pre-emptive strikes shows a steady head under duress. Come GE14, a battle-hardened Najib will be better able to defend the BN fort against the sneaky bastards than Zahid can.
Najib also a better strategist, and you must remember that we desperately need the Sabah & Sarawak votes which requires a lot of diplomacy. Zahid is the gertak kaki.
Hisham – He comes with the baggage of KJ riding piggyback.
And I prefer Team Najib to the people supporting the oppo PM-in-waiting. I think Rahman Dahlan & Salleh Keruak have got sensible heads on their shoulders (I said this a couple of months back). On the other hand, the people who are Najib’s opponents like Zaid, Ariff Sabri, LKS … and particularly Rafizi and Tony are slimeballs.
Thanks for sharing , I like to quote what Khalid Nordin speech at UMNO Pasir Gudang yersterday.
” menurut biar berakal, menentang biar beradap”.
Helen,
Najib is cool. But perhaps too cool for comfort.
GR Kumar believes that Najib has got deeper reserves, i.e. greater strength, than most people suspect. Maybe I might get the war general I’ve been hankering for.
Maybe. After all he remains steady even when he’s being attacked by TM. That’s said a lot’s right.
Ps: makes me wonder did TM really seriously want PM to steps down or prepared him to face his opponents head on hehhehheh
;)sarah
Splinter group never survive
1MDB being attack on and on … selain dari opposition ambil kesempatan menambah fitnah … kroni kroni dia kena pijak & TRX sepatutnya TMX … ha ha tak kenyang2, tak puas puas …selagi belum 💀 mati.
I’ve not been following the 1MDB developments closely but Big Dog thinks it’s a good investment, see https://bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com/2015/08/10/hurrah-for-the-ex-servicemen/
This is my take on the 1MDB projects.
The Bandar Malaysia and TRX, they are good projects, especially if you have the means to invest there. The residents are being priced way above what is affordable to the average Malays, heck even the average non-Malays. It’s going to be another like KLCC and its vicinity, with very, very few Malays owning the properties. That is a major negative point, otherwise they are great projects and individuals, companies with the means would be crazy not to invest there.
Another negative point is that the land for the projects belonged to the government originally. By giving away the land at peanuts to 1MDB the government has shortchanged the people. If 1MDB is not a sovereign organization then the government should have not given away the land to them at a discount but should instead sell at a reasonable value. But they were given the lands, so their assets grew overnight.
Now 1MDB has turned around and started selling the plots at market value, giving them a profit margin of almost 100% on the land. So they should turn in profits. Let’s hope they can accomplish that.
But no matter how 1MDB got the land, it doesn’t change the fact that the projects are good.
Who is actually exaggerating here????
Kak Helen,
Kami perlukan UMNO, BN tapi tak perlukan Najib.
If you choose to support Umno, then you’re stuck with him until 2018. The power of incumbency is very strong and concentrated in the hands of the PM and Umno president.
Dollah Badawi was not a commanding character but because he was Umno president, he prevailed over Tun when Tun was out in the cold. In 2006, Tun failed to be nominated as even a party delegate to the Umno general assembly for his own division.
Believe it or not, Dr M finished in 9th spot out of the 15 candidates vying for a total of 7 places to represent Kubang Pasu at the PAU.
Then there’s the case of the ‘ordinary’ party member in Merbok who refuse to make way for Tun Daim to become division head uncontested in 1995. In that year, Daim was not holding a government post so he did not have the power of incumbency even tho’ he had oodles of money, being a billionaire.
(Tun Daim was Finance Minister 1984 – 1991, and returned for a second bout in 1999 – 2001.)
Selok-belok politik Umno … menarik, kan?
It is true the incumbent always has the upper hand in Umno. But I think there are quite a number of members who find the RM2.6 billion donation unacceptable. It’s a huge sum of money that went into the President’s personal account and then the account was closed. So, the question now is, what happened to the money, where did it go to?
See most of the members at the grassroot level do not even get to see RM1 million in their account, or even RM100,000. RM2.6 billion is beyond their imagination. That’s more than RM10 million for each Parliament seat. Now everyone is looking at their Bahagian chief and wondering how much he got. Now the KJ10Q, the Mercedes, the BMWs are looking like generous donations and for the people who have to take a bus to go down to PWTC for the Umno meets, they want answers. So far quite a number are not too happy with the answers given.
re: “So, the question now is, what happened to the money, where did it go to?”
In a Singapore bank, it seems.
Tun says, “Najib is now safe from being charged with illegally amassing funds. His claim that it is to be used for the coming elections is half-true.”
As Tun explained, “After the Wall Street Journal reported on Najib’s 2.6 billion Ringgit in his private account, it was closed. You cannot take all that money to keep with you. It had to be transferred. Apparently it was transferred to a Singapore bank. Then the Singapore authorities froze it.”
See, http://chedet.cc/?p=1825
Sambung…
I can understand why you think that TDM is undermining Umno. But I believe he is doing the right thing.
Looking at Najib, there’s the kesian factor, the Tun Razak factor, the “he’s a nice guy” factor. But all those still does not change the fact that he’s lost credibility. Even the kampung folks are talking about the RM2.6 billion (berapa biji Proton tu?), the 1MDB (apa ke benda nya?), the Rosmah factor. And some are not happy with the TDM bashing over TV3.
If Najib is still heading Umno for PRU14, the Wanita (let’s face it, only Wanita really work the campaigns) will have a tough time convincing people to vote for Umno. Then we also have the MCA, MIC contesting in Malay majority area. These people will be shunned totally.
So TDM is reading this right and hoping to get a change in Umno MT to prepare for the next election. I don’t believe he’s interested in seeing Najib serving time.
But how will whoever (that is who’s stepping into Najib’s shoes) explain the RM2.6b to potential BN voters, assuming that what Tun said is true about the money being frozen in a S’pore bank?
Will his successor make the 1MDB problems go away any better than how Najib is presently faring?
If Umno has an image problem of warlords chasing contracts and riding around town in their flashy SUVs/MPVs with the licence plate KJ10Q, swapping No.1 for No.2 will not clean up the party either.
Worse, it appears that Tun is endorsing street demos now to remove Najib. I’m afraid that dislodging him will be tantamount to pulling the plug for anarchy to ensue. We’re on a very slippery slope and the oppo (evangelistas) are very aggressive/opportunistic while the Malays are busy fighting among yourselves.
That’s the beauty of changing, the new guy is not Najib. He doesn’t have to explain. He just needs to go down to the grassroots and say we have appointed a team to look into 1mdb and the donations and in the meantime this is what we will be doing so that 1MDB will not be a burden to the people. I know that sounds simplistic but trust me, that’s the nature of the Malays. The sins of your brother are the sins of your brother.
Whilw Tun is saying that going down to the street is the last resort, I don’t think he wants to associate with the opposition. He’s not getting rid of the PM, he wants to get tid of Umno President first.
Getting rid of the Umno president is an internal party matter and certainly no crime.
However toppling the PM through street action will run afoul of the law.
Let’s see if the Dapsters dare to defy the FRU without the buffer of PAS and Unit Amal. They’ve got the next to weeks to mobilize. I hope Malays will opt to stay at home.
I don’t care about buffers. I just want to see if Najib and Zahid have the balls to follow through with actions if the Bersih and Dapsters go ahead with their demo.
At this point, people want to see some action. If they do, they have a chance. If they don’t, even their cyber supporters will get upset.
While the physical aspect of their rally may be legal, i.e. if they manage to get the police permit and comply with the provisions of the Peaceful Assembly Act, nonetheless the intent of the rally could be suspect and liable to legal action by the authorities.
However, I’d still prefer the police not to take pre-emptive action. Would like to see how much of a show of strength the DAP can muster without the PAS muscle.
I suppose the police could always make their arrests if the demonstrators start chanting inflamatory slogans or if the crowd decide to charge (breach barricades, like the Anwar episode at Dataran or the Tian Chua episode at KL Sentral tunnel) and start to riot.
‘Tun has returned, and he exaggerates’.
I disagree. To be fair to Tun M, he did explained rather clearly what he meant by saying why he thinks democracy is dead.
‘Democracy is dead. It is dead because an elected leader chooses to subvert the institutions of Government and make them his instruments for sustaining himself. There is no more democracy for anyone to undermine. Certainly talking about 1MDB will not undermine something that no longer exist. If anyone should be questioned by the police, it is Najib.’
That’s not an exaggeration at all, you think?
And for someone who does not write or care to write on 1MDB (perhaps as you have explained, again and again, no interest to do so, which I respect), I think it is a bit unfair for you to put Tun on the spotlight the way you did. He talks about something you don’t talk about. Of course la, it does not make sense to you, kan?
re: “an elected leader chooses to subvert the institutions of Government”
Sigh.
That’s what the opposition always says about Tun himself, i.e. he emasculated the judiciary, weakened the checks and balances within the system, grew and empowered the Islamic bureaucracy that is gargantuan in size today, blurred the doctrine of separation of powers, eroded freedom of the media, defanged the royals (but they’ve bounced back recently), etc, etc.
For Tun to accuse Najib of subverting the institutions of Government is the pot calling the kettle black.
re: “make them his instruments for sustaining himself”
That’s what the oppo said about Tun vis-a-vis the sacking of Lord President Salleh Abas.
re: “There is no more democracy for anyone to undermine.”
Again, the oppo’s biggest complaint against Tun is that he undermined democracy and introduced an autocratic rule. In fact, they’re so angry at Tun over this that they’re still holding a grudge a dozen years after the grand Olde Man has retired.
re: “Certainly talking about 1MDB will not undermine something that no longer exist.”
Tun is undermining BN’s credibility. It’s not like he is using a scalpel to make a surgical cut and succeeding in just kenakan Najib alone. It’s more like he’s using a chainsaw to amputate a limb and it’s very messy leaving BN all bloodied.
re: “If anyone should be questioned by the police, it is Najib.”
Tun wants Najib to be arrested? Then it’ll go down in history that an Umno president is a criminal. This is menconteng arang di muka parti sendiri. And there will be anarchy following.
re: “He talks about something you don’t talk about. Of course la, it does not make sense to you, kan?”
It appears to me that Tun is on a vendetta against Najib, and this is hurting Umno and BN. I’ve no doubt that his concern over 1MDB is genuine, and that he wants the best for the party and to help keep BN in power. But his actions are not producing the desired effect. Instead it is the opposite.
Tun is inflicting damage that Umno-BN is finding hard to recover from. Tun is ‘working with’ Sarawak Report to badmouth Najib. He’s giving interviews that allow the Western media to badmouth Malaysia. He even sided with TMI (dosa besar nih!)
I know he’s not working with the opposition but the opposition are sure as hell cheering him on (like Kit Siang’s endless overtures). But even if he’s not a willing participant, still, the oppo are hitching a ride on his name to topple the Najib administration up to the point of street protests.
What it looks like is that Tun is so dead set on bring down Najib that he has become impervious to the drastic consequences that will ensue, esp. since Najib is fighting every step of the way. Tun tearing at the very foundations of Umno’s power could cause everything to collapse.
ADD
“make them his instruments for sustaining himself”
Tun introduced the loaded quota system in the nomination of Umno president and making it very difficult for challengers to take him on in the party election.
‘It appears to me that Tun is on a vendetta against Najib’
I disagree. Haven’t you notice the clarity of the latest article, ‘Malaysia’ touching on the issue?
‘Tun wants Najib to be arrested? Then it’ll go down in history that an Umno president is a criminal. This is menconteng arang di muka parti sendiri.’
It is unfortunate. But lets not be hypocritical about it. If he breaks the law. Why not?! As for menconteng arang, well, this is truly, ditelan mati mak, diluah mati bapak kind of situation.
‘Tun tearing at the very foundations of Umno’s power could cause everything to collapse.’
Quite the contrary. I hope not. Perhaps some would like to see that there is still hope in UMNO. I think most in UMNO would like to see this too. I maybe wrong. I would like to see this.
But haven’t you notice the Ketua Pemuda remarks lately, trying to distance himself from the 2.6 billion scandal, with ‘I’m not team Najib or TSMY, but team UMNO’? That says a lot don’t you think?
And more and more figures in UMNO now appears to be singing to the tune of Tun and TSMY. I think UMNO need this. The party must be seen that it can be corrected by itself. Otherwise people, the akar umbi will shy away.
I mean what’s the point right, of putting someone into the office, someone who clearly does not care about others, but himself?!
re: “Haven’t you notice the clarity of the latest article, ‘Malaysia’ touching on the issue?”
First of all, Tun is a very effective writer and speaker both. He’s also been writing Che Det (back then as a newspaper column) since he was a young man.
As for clarity, well, he’s written and spoken on the same topic dozens of times. After constant rehash, one does tend to fine-tune the presentation.
re: “If he breaks the law. Why not?!”
If he breaks the law, then I agree he will have to face the consequences just like the rest of us mere mortals. But first let them (police, LKS, Rafizi, Tony, Ambiga, Zaid, etc) prove it.
re: “Perhaps some would like to see that there is still hope in UMNO.”
Umno will remain the No.1 political party for years to come. Yang kita takutkan tu hanya BN kalah nanti. Tapi Umno akan kekal utuh.
re: “I would like to see this.”
Wish we had Datuk Onn.
re: “But haven’t you notice the Ketua Pemuda remarks lately, trying to distance himself from the 2.6 billion scandal, with ‘I’m not team Najib or TSMY, but team UMNO’? That says a lot don’t you think?”
That says a lot about KJ the political animal Anwar 2.0.
re: “And more and more figures in Umno now appears to be singing to the tune of Tun and TSMY.”
Yes.
re: “The party must be seen that it can be corrected by itself. Otherwise people, the akar umbi will shy away.”
Don’t think we can get any better hardware from the current lot (except maybe for KuLi but he’s too much of a gentleman to confront the gutter DAP). I say correct the software instead, i.e. Najib’s conciliatory approach and policies are not suitable to our hostile political climate and must be jettisoned.
re: “I mean what’s the point right, of putting someone into the office, someone who clearly does not care about others, but himself?!”
I don’t think he’s all that bad. The poor Indians like him.
Yyessss … looks like my patience did pay off, this time. I had wanted to jump-in … at my first sight of this article.
Somehow … I had got ‘that feeling’ that one of the ‘flag-bearers’ would stand up … and he did. I should say that much of what I had in mind was duly expressed by Boss islam1st and … and I would have expected the appropriate reponses from Boss Helen.
Even though I have not wavered from where I’m standing right now … but both of you did put a little smile back on my face, today. Thanks a lot, guys. Hmmm … how long will that smile last? Well … we’ll just leave that for another day … hi hi hi
Any thoughts on the Nazir-Zeti expose? I suspect it’s the PMO boys at work, but if this is true, why would the PM arrow his own brother? The game machiam deeper than I thought..
re: “why would the PM arrow his own brother?”
Why not? Nazir drew first blood and has been shooting and shooting at his own brother. Haven’t you noticed?
Strategically, TRX and Bandar Malaysia will propel our nation’s economy to a greater height capitalised on location location location and superb infrastructures. Whereas, Mahathir buiIt RM30 Billion Putrajaya to sustain the economy using Petronas’ money. He used a few billions to bailout his son’s companies. Is it not a conflict of interest? Is not an abuse of power? Sudah terang lagi bersuluh.
I don’t trust the wicked old moron talking about RM42 Billion disappeared into thin air. I am more worried about his crony the Al-Bukhary groups’ debt of RM34 Billion.
Actually I like Putrajaya. The air is fresher than in the city and elsewhere in the Klang Valley, and everything there (roads, turfs) is kind clean and neat.
Time will tell whether Mahathir was a great visionary in envisioning this administrative capital but you really have to salute the man – one man – for raising a brand new city from the ground.
Helen,
That is Tun’s legacy.
I admire Tun’s candid remark on how he searched a suitable way to beat George Soros.
Tun Mahathir is a rare Malay gem, an iconic statesman figure.
Syed’s recent poll showed that Najib had only 3% support while 97% did not support Najib. And his blog had over 20 million hits.
I’m very curious as to know how your readers will vote should you run a poll similar to Syed’s.
Care to experiment, Helen? Else your readers might accuse you of wanting to run polls that you know will favor your sentiment on the subject being polled.
For the record, I don’t agree with your stand about Najib for the current political mess he created, as much as I disagree with you supporting the left wing Maikkal Sakti.
re: “Syed’s recent poll showed that Najib had only 3% support while 97% did not support Najib.”
That’s awful … for the PM. And I’m always grumbling about being in the minority 10 percent Chinese. Kali ni I’m in the 3 percent pula.
re: “And his blog had over 20 million hits.”
SAA is highly persuasive and influential in this matter of 1MDB and its related public sentiment.
re: “I’m very curious as to know how your readers will vote should you run a poll similar to Syed’s.”
Hard to say, ‘cos the majority are silent readers.
re: “Care to experiment, Helen?”
No, I don’t want my poll results to be exploited to criticize the PM. That will make me an unwitting pawn when I’ve not even been blogging about 1MDB (ever since the ‘rebellion’ began).
re: “Else your readers might accuse you of wanting to run polls that you know will favor your sentiment on the subject being polled.”
Generally yes, they are aligned with my own sentiment with the exception of the hudud poll. I’m against the penalties but a surprisingly large number of readers were in favour of implementing.
Nonetheless my polls have never been skewed to the point of 97% like SAA’s Najib poll. The last ones were:
re: “For the record, I don’t agree with your stand about Najib for the current political mess he created”
That’s alright. We’re free to agree to disagree. Democracy is still alive! :D
re: “as much as I disagree with you supporting the left wing Maikkal Sakti”
I recall our rocky ‘relationship’ back then. I’m glad that over the past few years we’ve managed to pass the stage of bersangka buruk, and I think you’ve given me the benefit of the doubt (bersangka baik) over this Najib-Tun tussle. Much appreciated.
I’m glad there are some fruits (benefits) to perseverance, i.e. me doggedly blogging and you and other regular readers patiently following the train of my thoughts. It’s really more productive this way. I dislike newcomers parachuting in and firing machine gun accusations at me without any basis of fact.
I am no Najib fan either but I also do not take Internet polls seriously since they are usually skewed towards the biases of those people who visit a particular blog.
Generally speaking though, I feel that Najib’s popularity has taken a beating and would be below 50%.
Why not go stand in Puduraya with a clipboard and ask people whether they support Najib or not then tell us the result.
True. SAA caters to a group that is very much anti Najib and also at times anti-hadis. I read SAA mostly for another viewpoint.
Agreed … read SAA for other viewpoints.
Hence the exact reason why I asked Helen to conduct a similar poll about Najib. Her readers and audience I believe are slightly different than those who frequent Syed’s blog.
And since you’ve suggested it, what’s preventing you from standing at Puduraya with a clip “do you support Najib?”, and come back here and share us the results.
A better term would be “dysfunctional” because dysfunctional democracy is what is happening in Malaysia right now and as history testifies to, dysfunctional democracy has often led to authoritarian rule to stabilise the national situation.
The Weimar Republic had dysfunctional democracy and runaway inflation which resulted in Hitler coming to power.
Thailand suffered from dysfunctional democracy for many years until General Prayuth staged a military coup and took the bull by its horns.
When the people are fed up with the abuse of the democratic process by politicians on all sides, with political and economic uncertainty which results, they will accept anything which promises to solve the problem whether it actually does or not, though dunno what that will be in Malaysia’s case.
re: “dysfunctional democracy”
Now … that’s food for thought. Don’t know how much cache I have left to process this … maybe, I’ll do it at some other time. Thanks, anyway …